Posts tagged with "NAMOC":

Over a star-studded semi-finalist list of Western architects, Pritztker-Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel has been awarded the commission to design the world’s largest art museum: the new National Art Museum of China in Beijing. The 130,000 square meters NAMOC building is intended to exhibit works by 20th-century and traditional artists from worldwide. The Financial Times reported earlier this year that Jean Nouvel’s design idea as that of a single ink brushstroke, a concept of traditional Chinese art and calligraphy. With sweeping glass and a reflective facade, the museum’s exterior takes obvious inspiration from the art visitors will encounter within its walls.
The winning design’s facade makes up a tangible interpretation of a brushstroke. Pierced stone screens and streaked patterned glass create a varied, yet continuous exterior. Shimmering and semi-transparent, the surface allows for a blotted reflection of the colors and shapes of the surrounding dragon-shaped garden and sea of red flags.
The building touches the ground only at four points, sweeping upwards in its center as if the artist had a vertical inspiration. In this phenomenon, Nouvel has envisioned two different leveled lobbies for entrance to the museum. The summer lobby on the ground floor is exposed to the elements, surrounded by nature. But, in winter months it can be closed off and visitors enter through the first floor, protected from the elements yet surrounded by semi-transparent glass walls that give visions of what’s outside.
After entering the competition in December 2010, Jean Nouvel's design was set on a shortlist of twenty, then narrowed down to five, alongside Hadid, Gehry, Herzog & de Meuron (who withdrew), and Safide. Although there was some speculation for a winner after Gehry Partners released their design renderings to the public for a current exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Jean Nouvel’s highly coveted win was later confirmed by his advisor, Olivier Schmitt.
The museum will be located in Olympic Park adjacent to the Ai Wei Wei-designed Bird's Nest Stadium from the 2008 Olympics. The Chinese government has made no official comment on the commission decision or a timeline for construction.

Frank Gehry has unveiled renderings of its shortlisted entry for the competition to design the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), the predestined showstopper of Beijing’s new cultural district. Gehry was shortlisted alongside fellow Pritzker Prize winners Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid for the high-profile project. Gehry's submission incorporates transparent cladding, an interior comprised of lofty, geometric courtyards evocative of pagodas and temples, and a layout that would accommodate nearly 12 million annual visitors.
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In acknowledging the globalization of art and its role in connecting the world’s various cultures, the firm's plans seeks to address the concept of 21st century Chinese architecture. Gehry Partners has created a unique design tailored to the museum’s framework, as the structure will be situated facing the central axis of Olympic Park, over the course of the three competition stages.
To convey delicate movement, the firm considered glass as a facade material, and in doing so developed a new material—translucent stone—that grants the building an imperial appearance suitable for a national museum. The translucent stone, which is part of the inventive sustainable facade system that integrates a ventilated airspace, allows the structure to efficiently transform for the seasons, festivals, diverse exhibitions, and as a canvas for artists.
The renderings reveal four dispersed entrances at each corner and expose a structure that can accommodate a record number of visitors. A formal entry resembling a Chinese temple is positioned in the center of the west facade. The interiors are organized around large public spaces linked vertically by escalators. Visible only from the inside, the spaces are inspired by temples and establish a proper connection between the shapes of the building facade and the interior.
The project is currently part of Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition called A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture from Southern California.